foreign policy showdown. mitt romney gets serious about libya, syria, and more, but president obama hits him hard with a brand-new ad. we'll show it to you. winter weather now. many parts of the country will make up this morning to an arctic blast from the north. bill's forecast is straight ahead. and 48 straight. drew breezes into the record books. this is a big one. very good morning to you. i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "first look" on msnbc.

29 days and counting. there is less than a month to go in the race for the white house, and right now, both candidates are on the road. while the president campaigns in california, mitt romney spent sunday in florida before his major foreign policy speech in virginia today. nbc's tracie pots has more in washington. tracie, good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, veronica, good morning. even with those jobs numbers that came out friday helping president obama, we are still seeing mitt romney with a boost after the debate, and today he will argue that under the president, america is weaker against enemies abroad. mitt romney gives a big foreign policy speech in virginia today, but over the weekend in florida, he focused on taxes and president obama. >> they will ultimately have to raise taxes on middle income families by $4 million a year.

>> reporter: since last week's debate, which romney is widely regarded as having won, both sides argued the other was dishonest. >> he was a little taken aback at the brazenness with which governor romney walked away from so many of the positions on which he's run. >> reporter: their truth war now on tv. >> not telling the truth about mitt romney's tax plan. >> this was dishonest. >> i'm not in favor of a $5 trillion tax cut. >> the governor knows his $5 trillion tax cut isn't too popular, so a few weeks before the election, he's trying to pretend it doesn't exist. >> reporter: president obama at a star-studded fundraising concert in los angeles sunday heads to san francisco today with romney's poll numbers improving. >> they're looking very good. i feel very good. >> reporter: after the debate, romney is within two points of the president. and tomorrow, both candidates head to ohio, battleground ohio, where early voting is already under way. tomorrow is the last day to register to vote there. veronica?

>> thank you. mitt romney will deliver that major policy speech before noon eastern, but the obama campaign is issuing a preemptive strike with this new tv ad criticizing the republican candidate's past foreign policy faux pas. take a look. >> reckless. amateurish. that's what news media and fellow republicans called mitt romney's gaffe-filled july tour of england, israel, and poland, when our u.s. diplomats were attacked in libya, "the new york times" said romney's response showed an extraordinary lack of presidential character. >> the obama campaign said this will be romney's seventh speech on foreign policy. venezuelan president hugo chavez gets to keep his job for another seven years, but his re-election came in the slimmest margin ever in his nearly 14 years in power. he won just 54% of the vote. actor danny glover, a longtime supporter of chavez, was on hand for a day of heavy voter

turnout. chavez's opponent, a former state governor, accused him of using the oil to his advantage. he told backers the revolution has triumphed and that supporters were voting for socialism. well, talk about wedding crashers. in philadelphia, police had to break up a brawl involving almost 100 guests from two separate wedding parties. one man died of a heart attack and several people were injured, and it was all captured on cell phone video. nbc's frances coe has details. >> reporter: it was anything but bliss on this wedding night in philadelphia. guests of two separate wedding parties duking it out. >> i was actually up on the second floor watching. >> it was bedlam. it really was out of hand. >> very loud and very obnoxious. >> reporter: that's the voice of 15-year-old max schultz, a guest at the sheraton society hotel. he witnessed the wild brawl and recorded it on his cell phone. >> just started punching each other and hitting each other.

>> reporter: by the time philadelphia police arrived, they said 75 to 100 people were fighting. >> police started clogging people. >> reporter: officers say they were outnumbered and called for backup twice. investigators believe the melee originally started among members of the one wedding party but then someone reportedly from the second wedding party was hit with something and the situation went downhill from there. >> did they just deck the bride? >> reporter: at one point a bride is seen falling to the ground. several people were injured and one man believed to be an uncle of a bride died of a heart attack. police arrested several people for disorderly conduct and more arrests could come, on a night of celebration that disintegrated into chaos. frances coe, nbc news. now here's a look at some other stories making news today early in america. we begin with a california liquor store owner nearly killed on camera. man's brush with death happened when a drunk driver crashed his pickup through the store.

luckily the shop owner was only hospitalized with minor injuries. the driver left the scene of the crime, but was later arrested on dui and felony hit-and-run. next to florida, the space x company launched the dragon capsule. three astronauts are awaiting the cargo along with one special treat, chocolate vanilla swirl ice cream was also sent up and sprinkles too. there was a different kind of launch in new mexico. over 600 hot air balloons took to the sky at the 41st albuquerque international balloon fiesta. this year's event featured an array of colorful balloons and one dedicated to luke skywalker's dad. there he is, good old darth vader. finally, 50 husbands and wives braved hazardous conditions at the 2012 north american wife carrying championships.

couples raced through a 278 yard obstacle course and the winning team from finland has won the world championship for the past four years. now for a look at the national weather, we turn to bill karins with a weather channel forecast. four years in a row, what's their secret? what are they doing? >> maybe they have a good relationship and conversations? i don't know. >> they're practicing. >> maybe she's light and he's fast. >> good morning, everyone. temperatures with a big plunge arrived as advertised. this is pretty much what we've been waiting for. what's unusual about this is it's been so warm this year. we've been off the charts with the drought and everything. this is really the first below average temperatures we've experienced in months upon months. now that the cool air has arrived and gotten everyone's attention, it is unusually cold. yesterday only highs were in the 50s all the way down to dallas. very rare for this time of year.

we're still in the beginning of october. the sun is still pretty strong. with the chilly nights like this, even a strong sun has trouble warming the air mass.. 33 in kansas city, 35 in chicago. if your kids do have school today, taking the gloves, the hats, possibly the heavy winter coat. as far as what we're going to deal with later today. >> we will warm up significantly. we have frost and freeze warnings this morning. those will be gone by 8:00, 9:00. we'll have a lot of sunshine in the air. very cold through the midwest. don't expect a nice day in the mid-atlantic. whatever sunshine you get from new york city to d.c. all the way into virginia, appreciate it. the clouds will move in with a little bit of rain. we are watching the rain down here in northern mississippi, southern portions of tennessee. looks like it should stay just to the south of nashville. as we mentioned, some of those clouds increasing late today with showers especially for the evening rush hour from philly to d.c. the rest of the country looks pretty dry, veronica. it is a pretty chilly start. if you haven't switched the

wardrobe out, now's the time to do it. >> brought my winter coat, bill. california's gains pains have the governor fuming. a shortage. this you'll want to hear. plus, your "first look" at business is straight ahead. on the blink. from eye shuttering statistics from last week's debate. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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making news this morning, one day after israeli war plains shot down a drone that crossed into air space, israeli forces swooped into villages on sunday. an apparent warning to hezbollah, which israel considers the prime suspect in the drone raid. crews went fishing for drugs and reeled in a major catch, seizing $35 million worth of cocaine in the caribbean and $2 million worth of marijuana tossed from a speeding boat near guantanamo bay, cuba. today a one-time cincinnati bengals cheerleader accused of

having sex with an underage student will reportedly accept a plea deal. sarah jones allegedly had sexual contact with a 17-year-old while teaching at a high school in kentucky. and trending right now on nbcnews.com, did you know your pets can catch the flu? in some cases, from you. new research finds a jump in the number of cats infected with both a seasonal and h1n1 virus. a third of american homes have at least one cat. nearly four in ten have at least one dog. and they too can be infected. and now here's your "first look" dish at scrambled politics. george clooney was on hand for a fund-raiser last night. also there was seth mcfarland, creator of "the family guy" who will host the oscars.

politics says president obama blinked at a rate of 70.8 times per minute last week. much more than mitt romney. it's a measure of stress, but does it definitely say which candidate will win in november? on "meet the press," nbc political director chuck todd said that president obama may have a problem because hispanic voters are not as enthuse see as 12ik as they were in 2008. >> even though he's going to get more hispanics if less of them turn out, it's a net zero and yet you look at republican enthusiasm up, senior enthusiasm up. by the way, all of this, pre-debate. on abc's this week paul krugman hammered the media for not fact checking mitt romney in the debate. >> the news media will not cover me as long as i forcefully say he won. >> the press is against obama now? >> it doesn't know how to handle untruths. and a strange political

endorsement online from that wild and crazy guy, steve martin. he made a issatira krzyzewski video on how to use paper and paper clips. and that is your morning dish of scrambles politics. and now here's your "first look" at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow closed at 13,610. the s&p was down a fraction. the nasdaq lost 13. taking a look at overseas trading, the nikkei was closed for a holiday, but in hong kong, the hang seng dropped 187. bond markets are closed, but stock markets will be open for business on this columbus day. but don't expect much holiday spirit. investors are bracing for what's being forecast as one of the worst earnings seasons since late 2009.

as always, alcoa will kick things off followed by jp morgan chase and google. this morning economic worries were a drag on most asian markets after the world bank slashed its growth forecast for china and east asia. the imf is expected to do the same for its global outlook sometime this week. here in the states, california's governor has ordered early delivery of cheaper winter grade gas to help ease a shortage that drove prices to a record $4.65 a gallon over the weekend. the national average is just $3.81. around the world, honda is recalling just under half a million crvs made between 2002 and 2006 for problems with a driver side power window switch that could cause a fire. priceline.com says the cost of thanksgiving flights are already on the rise. the average domestic round trip ticket is now $393, that's up 3%

over last year. and speaking of holiday spending, a record seven in ten americans will celebrate halloween this year. from costumes to candy, revelers will shell out just under $80 apiece. finally, say it isn't so. "the wall street journal" reports starbucks across the country are out of the flavoring for their pumpkin spice latte. come on! how will we all go on? it's the beginning of october. playoff baseball and a historic night in the nfl for drew brees. plus, check this out. a monster pile-up at nascar's talladega super speedway. sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪

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a short word that's a tall order. up your game. up the ante. and if you stumble, you get back up. up isn't easy, and we ought to know. we're in the business of up. everyday delta flies a quarter of million people while investing billions improving everything from booking to baggage claim. we're raising the bar on flying and tomorrow we will up it yet again. yeah. yeah. then how'd i get this... [ voice of dennis ] ...allstate safe driving bonus check? what is that? so weird, right? my agent, tom, said... [ voice of dennis ] ...only allstate sends you a bonus check for every six months you're accident-free...

...but i'm a woman. maybe it's a misprint. does it look like a misprint? ok. what i was trying... [ voice of dennis ] silence. ♪ ask an allstate agent about the safe driving bonus check. are you in good hands? zwroo welcome back to "first look." in sports, drew brees's record-setting night led the new orleans saints to their first win of the season. brees broke johnny unitas's 52-year-old record by throwing a touchdown pass his 48th straight game. it was a 40-yard strike to devery henderson in the fourth quarter. brees threw for 370 yards and four touchdowns to beat the san diego chargers 24-21. here now is an early look at all of sunday's nfl scores. games of note, the colts scored a touchdown in the final seconds for a stunning comeback win over the packers. tom brady won the battle of the marquee quarterbacks, leading the patriots to a 31-21 victory over peyton manning and the

broncos. washington's rg3 was knocked out of the game against the 5-0 falcons. and the 49ers became the first team in nfl history with 300 yards passing and 300 yards rushing in a 45-3 blowout against the bills. the new york jets play the undefeated houston texans tonight. now to baseball's national league division series. the nationals beat the cards 3-2. they take a one-game lead. and last night, the reds blanked the giants 9-0, taking a two-game series lead. the american league, the tigers walked off in a 5-4 victory over the a's and a two-game lead. the yanks scored five in the ninth to beat the o's 7-2, going one up on baltimore. finally, at nascar's talladega super speedway, tony stewart triggered a 25-car pile-up as he tried to protect his lead. only two of the 12 title contenders avoided the final wreck.

race winner matt kenseth and second place finisher jeff gordon. brief it or not -- believe it or not, there were no injuries reported. here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with your forecast. that is one place i would not ever want to be. >> you have to watch those restrictor plate races. all the cars have to go similar speeds. you get huge wrecks. >> scary. >> can't-miss tv. scary to watch it happen and to be in it. let me give you an update on the forecast. one area in northern mississippi coming down to southern tennessee. it looks like it will go to the south of nashville. the rain in new england has exited. that will be good. today we'll start off with sunshine in new england. it's cool out there this morning. the clouds will increase. dry this morning but late this afternoon into the evening, philadelphia, new york, baltimore. weather does improve for the

east coast as we go throughout the week. washington, d.c., will have enjoyable weather wednesday, thursday, friday. it's in the middle of the country where it's very cold this morning, veronica. it will be a nice columbus day from chicago all the way through the hard land. but just not where it's raining. >> just a few spots. >> all right. good. liam neeson takes a cool $50 million and ben affleck does the right thing. plus who is the sexiest woman in the world. last year it was rihanna. but this year it's someone new. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪ i use tide vivid detergent and boost. they keep my whites looking like new, wash after wash. tell me... yes. ...do you sell a matching jegging? that's my tide, and that's how i break the rules of white. [ female announcer ] tide plus bleach is now tide vivid! new look. same powerful clean.

big bird, how did you find

out your name had been mentioned in the debate? >> i got a million tweets. >> so you're on twitter? >> no. i'm a bird. tweeting is how we talk. >> okay. so before you go, do you have any political statement you'd like to make? >> no. i don't want to roughly any feathers. but i do have a political joke. may i tell it? >> of course. >> okay. here we go. >> okay. >> you know who -- who -- who loves debates? >> who? >> defish -- debates. >> no, i get it. >> it's a thinker. >> big bird, everyone. big bird stealing the show. all right. time now for your first look at entertainment news. actor liam neeson took theaters by storm this weekend. the action sequel "taken 2" led the box office with an astounding $50 million haul,

more than double what the first "taken" film made in its opening weekend. it is neeson's third biggest opening behind ""star wars" episode i" and "clash of the titans." elsewhere, actress mila kunis has dethroned rihanna as this year's sexiest woman alive. that's according to "esquire" this would be olivia wild according to bill karins. >> i didn't quite say that, but i would agree with myself. >> well, she's 29. she's an actress. she starred in this year's his movie "ted." last year "gq" named her knockout of the year. >> is she 29? >> she's 29. finally, if there's anyone you would want to hit your parked car, ben affleck reportedly knocked the side mirror off of a car. he apologized and gave his contact info. he promised to cover the

repairs. he left his phone number? >> hi, this is ben affleck, i hit your car. >> buy me a new car, ben. i'm veronica de la cruz. "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. president obama looks to counter his poor debate performance last week by highlighting two numbers that democrats hope will give a boost to the campaign. one is the 7.8% unemployment rate and the other is a $181 million fundraising haul. the question is which candidate has the momentum? hugo chavez wins re-election to a third term in venezuela. the question is, will the next 6 years of a chavez presidency look any different than the previous 14? and the new orleans saints lo